76ers at Celtics
The Boston Celtics are enjoying their best stretch of basketball this season and are on the verge of jumping into a postseason spot. The Celtics will try to take one more step forward when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Boston has won a season-high four straight games and nine of 12 to move within a half-game of the eighth-place Charlotte Hornets in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers are playing for lottery position but have been surprisingly scrappy of late with wins over Atlanta and Sacramento in the last four games to go along with an overtime loss in Chicago. Philadelphia is trying to snap a 13-game road losing streak which includes a 107-96 setback at Boston on Feb. 6. The Celtics have won their last three without the services of guard Isaiah Thomas, who is dealing with a bruised back, and Phil Pressey is picking up his play to help cover the loss.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (15-51): Philadelphia has been judging its season by small steps forward and is seeing steady improvement from rookie center Nerlens Noel. The 20-year-old Kentucky product had a streak of five straight games with double-digit rebounds come to an end with seven against Brooklyn on Saturday but went for 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the 94-87 setback. Noel was held to eight points on 1-of-5 shooting and seven rebounds while committing four turnovers in the loss at Boston on Feb. 6.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (29-36): Thomas did not travel with the team for its 93-89 win at Indiana on Saturday and is hoping to return to the court on Monday. Boston is giving more of the load to Evan Turner to handle the ball for the starting unit but Pressey is taking control of the second unit and posted a double-double in a win over Orlando on Friday before tallying seven points and four assists in 17 minutes at the Pacers. The Celtics only need a handful of points from Pressey because the defense has been so strong, yielding an average of 89.8 points in the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics have taken each of the first three meetings this season by an average of 13.3 points.
2. Philadelphia F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sat out last game while dealing with undisclosed injuries and is day-to-day.
3. Boston G Avery Bradley is 5-of-20 from 3-point range over the last three games.